Anne's Arts & Activities Blog

At least one person was arrested after the Southern Tier Regional Drug Task Force raided a meth lab in the Village of Allegany late Thursday night. Police say the raid started at just after 10 p.m. at the South Seventh Street house. The task force and members of the state police crime lab removed hazardous material from the house this morning. They are expected to release more information this afternoon. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Michael Krancer is stepping down, and will return to private law practice next month. Michael Krancer has been DEP secretary since January of 2011, and helped oversee Governor Tom Corbett’s Marcellus Shale advisory commission. E. Christopher Abruzzo, deputy chief of staff for Corbett, will serve as acting secretary. He will hold both positions until Corbett names Krancer’s successor. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

A Forestville, New York, man is accused of pointing a gun at two people in the Town of Hanover. Sheriff’s deputies say at around 6 o’clock Wednesday evening Stephen Duman pointed the gun at the people while they were trying to load a disabled snowmobile onto a truck. Duman is charged with menacing and has been issued appearance tickets for Hanover Town Court. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Representative Glenn 'GT' Thompson, R-Howard, today issued the following statement after the House passed H.Con.Res. 25, a resolution establishing the budget for the U.S. Government for Fiscal Year 2014. The measure passed by a vote of 221-207. "The House has put forward a budget that changes the spending trajectory in Washington, something that cannot be said for our Senate colleagues who, to date, have not passed a budget in more than four years,” stated Thompson. “This resolution puts our country back on a sustainable fiscal path, while preserving and strengthening the solvency of critical safety net programs for future retirees and setting a framework for broad economic growth.” The non-partisan Congressional Research Service (CRS) recently issued a report highlighting dramatic increases of domestic oil and natural gas production on private land, noting that production is down on federal land due in part to overly burdensome federal r...

Representatives of employers and services will be on hand at the annual career fair at the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford next week to discuss current and prospective employment and internship opportunities. The 27th annual career fair, which is sponsored by the Office of Career Services, will be held from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday, March 26, in the Mukaiyama University Room of the Frame-Westerberg Commons. No pre-registration is required, but those attending the fair should bring copies of the resumes and dress in appropriate business attire. The event is free and open to the public. Businesses and agencies attending the fair include Abraxas I, Alcohol and Drug Abuse Services, Allegheny Bradford Corp., American Refining Group, Aramark, AXA Advisors, Beacon Light Behavioral Health Systems, Bradford Regional Medical Center, Cattaraugus Community Action, CNB Bank, Cutco Corp., Ellwood National Forge, Empereon Marketing, Lowe’s, McKean County Department ...

Mick Marshall, president of CARE for Children’s board of directors, announced that Leslie Kallenborn has been hired as development and marketing coordinator for the not- for-profit organization. Kallenborn will manage external communications, fund and business development, fundraising, marketing, and special events for the agency. “With the construction of the Ashley Booth Griffin CARE for Children Center, the board is pleased that Leslie will help lead the marketing and development efforts at CARE during this exciting and historic period in the agency’s long history. She joins the staff at a time when her skills will be sorely needed to help CARE reach its fundraising goals for the center and to help us move forward with the expansion and addition of needed services for the local pediatric population,” stated Marshall. Kallenborn spent five years at the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford where she held the position of assistant director of annual giving. In that role she deve...

Pennsylvanians are now one step closer to having real choice and convenience as wine, spirits and beer consumers, Governor Tom Corbett said Thursday after the House passed House Bill 790, the liquor privatization bill, by a vote of 105-90. Corbett said that House Bill 790 ends the state's role as the sole wholesaler and retailer of wine and spirits, allows for true consumer choice and increases enforcement, fines and penalties. The bill now moves to the state Senate, where debate and amendments are expected. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

The man who firebombed Players Downtown in Bradford has been sentenced to more than 10 years in prison for violating federal arson laws. 43-year-old Damon Kayes threw a Molotov cocktail at the front door of the bar at around 11:30 p.m. on September 9, 2011, when about 30 people were inside. No one was hurt. US District Judge Sean McLaughlin said Kayes has a serious criminal history involving multiple violent offenses, and that he totally disregarded the serious risk of harm to the bar’s patrons. Besides the 150 months in prison, Kayes has also been ordered to pay nearly $2,900 in restitution. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

A box truck hit a school bus Thursday morning on Route 242 in the Town of Ellicottville, but none of the 14 students on board was hurt. State police say the bus was at a railroad crossing when a Freightliner box truck driven by Jeffrey Coen of Franklinville didn’t stop and rear-ended the bus. Coen was trapped inside the truck and, after being freed by Ellicottville Fire Department personnel, was taken to Bertrand Chafee Hospital for treatment of leg injuries. The road was closed for about two hours for the investigation. Police charged Coen with following too closely, and say additional charges are pending a vehicle inspection. The students were transferred to another bus and taken to Pioneer Central School. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

Caribou, Maine, knocked Bradford out of weather.com's Toughest Weather City Tournament. With 13,177 votes cast, Bradford lost by 233. If you’re still interested, Buffalo and Cleveland have moved on to the next round. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

A Blasdell, New York, man is in McKean County Jail for allegedly attacking a male nurse at BRMC. 26-year-old Robert Williams, who had been admitted to the MICA Unit a few hours earlier, allegedly burst through the gated entrance to the main desk of the unit, grabbed the nurse from behind and chocked him. He also allegedly hit and scratched the nurse, and bit him in the abdomen, causing bleeding and bruising. Williams is charged with aggravated assault and disorderly conduct. His bail is set at $30,000 and he is scheduled to appear in McKean County Central Court on Thursday. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

City of Bradford Police on Thursday helped a motorist with a disabled vehicle on East Corydon Street and looked into a theft on Chautauqua Place. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

UPDATE and CORRECTION: 16-year-old Dylan Schumaker has been identified as the suspect. He is not the baby's father. Just two weeks after a Salamanca man was charged with killing his girlfriend’s toddler, a 16-year-old boy has been charged with killing his girlfriend's baby in Springville. Erie County sheriff’s deputies were called to the house at about 8 o’clock last night for an unresponsive baby. They performed CPR before paramedics arrived. After paramedics got there, they took the baby to Bertrand Chaffee Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Deputies say Austin Smith would have turned two years old on Saturday. Austin’s 19-year-old mother was at work and 16-year-old Dylan Schumaker was babysitting. He is charged with second-degree murder. On March 6, 30-year-old Justin Crouse was charged with killing his girlfriend’s toddler, who turned 3 years old a week earlier. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

Washington DC- Today U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) announced that he has written a letter to Silver Airlines CEO, Darrell Richardson, urging the company to work to reduce cancellations at Bradford Regional Airport after a series of cancellations. In his letter, Casey made the case that the certainty of air service is critical to attracting business travelers to the area and for preserving the airports’ Essential Air Service contract. “The Essential Air Service program plays a vital economic role for airports throughout the Commonwealth. Keeping the Bradford Regional Airport’s Essential Air Service contract in place goes hand in hand with economic growth,” Senator Casey said. “Recent cancellations have created too much uncertainty for businesses and travelers. I’m hopeful that Silver Airlines will take immediate steps to fix this issue.” The full text of Senator Casey’s letter to Silver Airlines can be seen below: Mr. Darrell Richardson Chief Executive Officer Silver Airlin...

The NCAA tournament doesn’t get underway until tonight, but weather.com’s Toughest Weather City tournament is going on right now. Bradford is up against Burglinton, Vermont, and as of just after 1 p.m. we’re behind in voting 63 percent to 37 percent. You have until 4 o’clock Wednesday morning to vote. http://www.weather.com/sports-rec/march-madness/toughest-weather-city-northeast-1-20130314

A man from Ontario, Canada, is accused of taking Cattaraugus County Sheriff’s deputies on a high speed chase going toward the City of Salamanca. Deputies say at just after midnight on St. Patrick’s Day 54-year-old Ronald Weston of Burlington was driving 100 mph on Route 353 and when they tried to stop him he sped up and crossed completely into the opposite lane of travel as he approached Salamanca. When he eventually stopped, deputies gave him field sobriety tests and he was charged with aggravated DWI, unlawful fleeing a police officer and a number of traffic violations. He was sent to jail on $2,500 bail. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

A Cyclone man is in serious condition at UPMC Hamot after being shot in the neck Monday night. State police say a man who they did not identify had a small caliber handgun in a bedroom of a Keating Township house when a round discharged, hitting 19-year-old Chad Caldwell. Caldwell was first taken to Bradford Regional Medical Center before being transferred to Hamot. Police are continuing their investigation. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

The Bradford Family YMCA and triathlete/ironman Gregg Reynolds have joined forces to present "Preparing for Swim, Bike Run and Victory," a four-week series geared toward helping people prepare for and finish a triathlon. The series starts at 6:30 p.m. Tuesdays, beginning March 26, at the Bradford Family YMCA. The series is designed to help those interested in doing a triathlon, such as the local Willow Creek Triathlon. You can attend as many of the sessions as you'd like free of charge. They are: Triathlon 101 (March 26), Training for the Triathlon (April 2), How to get to the Start Line ... Healthy (April 9) and Race Day (April 16). Reynolds has taken over as race director for this year's Willow Creek Triathlon, which is set for Saturday, Aug. 3, and benefits the Disabled American Veterans of McKean and Warren counties. For more information on the classes, call the Y at 814-368-6101. For more information on the Willow Creek Triathlon, visit its website at w...

Two Cattaraugus County residents are charged with petit larceny for separate incidents. On Thursday 40-year-old Jennifer Goode of Salamanca was arrested for allegedly giving out ski passes at Holiday Valley. She is free on her own recognizance and will answer the charge at a later date in Town of Ellicottville Court. On Friday, 31-year-old Brian Bliss of Olean was charged for taking a gift card with more than $478 from the Kwik Fill on Route 417 in Allegany. Sheriff’s deputies say when Bliss was at work he loaded the gift car with the $478.38 and never paid for it. He was issued a court appearance ticket. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

A Salamanca man is accused of growing marijuana at his home. 30-year-old Bernard Isaac Jr. was arrested Monday afternoon after members of the Southern Tier Regional Drug Task Force searched his Cottage Avenue house and found marijuana plants, processed marijuana, and equipment used to grown marijuana. Isaac is scheduled to appear in Salamanca City Court on March 27 to answer a felony charge of unlawful possession of marijuana and a misdemeanor charge of unlawful growing of marijuana.

The Bradford Area Chamber of Commerce is proud to announce the recipients of their 2013 Awards along with the nominees to be honored in each category. Shane Oschman has been selected by the BACC Board of Directors as the 2013 recipient of the Directors’ Award, designed to be chosen by the Board of Directors and awarded to an individual or organization which has earned special recognition. As Bradford Area Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Ron Orris said of Oschman, “Shane never says no. Whenever a community organization seeks his help, Shane will be there, giving of himself in whatever way he can, to help their event, fundraising effort, or project succeed. We are very fortunate to have Shane on our side.” Oschman was selected as the 2013 Directors’ Award recipient, based not only on his dedication and commitment to the Bradford community, but also in appreciation of his unfailing support for the Bradford Area Chamber of Commerce and the ongoing impact he has had on t...

A variety of exciting new faces will appear in Bradford Little Theatre’s April 12-14 production, “East of the Sun” at Bradford Area High School. Eight of the 12 roles in the two-act comedy will be played by performers making their BLT debut. William Glennon's script is an adaptation of a Norwegian folk tale about young Snowdrop rescuing a prince from being forced either to marry an ugly princess or to remain a polar bear in the daytime. Portraying Ancilla the greedy Ice Witch will be Embrissa Wingard who has acted in a number of her church and school shows. Her nefarious assistant, the “not quite human” Hob will be Cordon Laroche, a BLT and BAHS stage veteran. Hannah Leposa will bring to life the Princess of the Long Nose; a veteran of local school productions, she was most recently seen as Renfield in the BAHS Drama Club’s “Dracula.” Heroine Snowdrop will be played by Rawny Reed, who has appeared in a variety of Williamsport area productions including “The Vagina Monologues.” ...

The United Way of the Bradford Area celebrated six months of its early childhood literacy program, First Chapter, with book distributions to several local children recently. “First Chapter is a free program designed for children ages birth to five, and their parents/guardians, with the mission of implementing early learning and literacy as part of a child’s daily routine,” said Executive Director Mandi Wilton Davis. “It is in alignment with our organization’s community impact model for education, and we’re very pleased with the impact it’s made in a short period for area youth.” According to Cara Costik, Community Relations Specialist, one motivating factor in implementing this type of program was to provide families with an at-home library to encourage language development and a love of reading. “After researching the possibility of creating an early childhood reading program in September 2012, I was stunned to find out that more than one-third of American children enter kinder...

William O’Connell has been blessed with the luck of the Irish, which, in his case, is his Irish family. The son of Matthew and Ruth Black O’Connell, his road to college began with a high school scholarship and a hefty push from his older sister, Pat, and his mother. Now Mike Carlson, Pat’s son and O’Connell’s nephew, and his wife, Susan, have honored all the O’Connells and their dedication to education by creating a scholarship at the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford. The Carlsons made a $5,000 gift, which was matched by $5,000 from the GE Foundation, to establish The O’Connell Family Scholarship. The scholarship will give first preference to students who are residents of McKean, Cameron or Elk counties in Pennsylvania and Cattaraugus, Wyoming or Chautauqua counties in New York. “I wanted to recognize the O’Connell family, including my grandparents, mother and several uncles, but particularly my Uncle Bill,” said Carlson, who is a member of th...

A Kill Buck man has pleaded guilty to trying to have sex with a young girl until she was 14. 45-year-old Kenneth Crawford attempted to subject the child to sexual contact numerous times from 1996 through 2003, according to the Cattaraugus County district attorney’s office. He will be sentenced on May 28. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

Local attorney Bennett B. Friedman passed away on March 17, 2013. Prior to becoming ill, Mr. Friedman had been practicing law in Bradford for more than 50 years. He attended the University of Michigan and later transferred to and graduated from Harvard University. His education was interrupted by World War II when he enlisted in the US Army in 1943 and was discharged on February 10, 1946, after serving in the 7th Army as an interpreter for the questioning of Reichsmarshall Hermann Goering after the fall of Germany. Following his discharge from the Army, he attended and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania Law School in 1949. He was admitted to the Pennsylvania bar on November 14, 1949, to the Federal District Court, Western District of Pennsylvania, on February 12, 1951, to the U.S. Supreme Court on October 20, 1958, and to the New York bar on February 19, 1996. In addition to his law practice in Bradford, Mr. Friedman was a leader and participant in numerous Bradford “firs...

Two Olean women and a Buffalo man are facing drug charges after the Southern Tier Regional Drug Task Force found crack cocaine, marijuana, prescription medication and drug paraphernalia in the home of the women. 23-year-old Starr Kitchen and 22-year-old Tenisha Myska, along with 20-year-old Lawrence Smith, are each charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance. The task force was assisted in the search of the Third Avenue house by the Cattaraugus County Special Response Team, Olean City Police Street Crimes Unit and the Cattaraugus County Sheriff’s Office. The task force says more charges are pending the completion of the investigation. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

A Kennedy, New York, man is facing charges for breaking the window of a cab that took him home from a bar. Back in February, 32-year-old Jason Degolier allegedly broke the front passenger side window. When the glass broke, some of it hit the driver in the face. The driver went to the hospital, where his eyes were washed out, but there were no injuries to his eyes. On Saturday, Degolier turned himself in to state police and was charged with reckless endangerment. The cab company did not want him charged for breaking the window because he already paid to have it repaired. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

Fire destroyed a barn in Randolph this morning, but none of the animals inside was hurt. The fire was reported at around 10:30 this morning in the barn that housed two cows and two horses, as well as several vehicles. A church and a house next door to the barn had minor damage from the fire because wind pushed the flames into those buildings. Five fire departments battled the blaze and the Cattaraugus County Fire Investigation Team has been called in to determine the cause of the blaze. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

Charges are pending against a Bradford man who was hurt in an accident Friday morning in Salamanca. Sheriff’s deputies say 51-year-old Timothy David Dorrion fell asleep at the wheel and hit a utility pole in the lawn of 4282 Center Street Extension. Dorrion was taken to Olean General Hospital for evaluation after complaining of neck and back pain. Deputies say Dorrion’s vehicle had substantial damage. The utility pole was destroyed. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

Two people hit retaining walls in separate crashes in Bradford. At just before 2 o’clock this morning 31-year-old Allison Hasek hit the wall at Elm Street and South Avenue. Early Sunday morning 27-year-old James Jones hit the wall at Mechanic Street and Jackson Avenue. Hasek wasn’t hurt. Jones and a passenger, Mary Doyle, suffered minor injuries and were treated at the scene. Hasek and Jones were both charged with DUI. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947